Thomas Ensign

is a Partner with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer‘s antitrust, competition and trade practice. He regularly appears before the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and often represents clients in Hart-Scott-Rodino Act reviews of mergers and acquisitions, and in civil and criminal antitrust investigations of alleged anticompetitive conduct. Tom handles a full range of antitrust issues, including intellectual property agreements, distribution arrangements, joint ventures and competitor collaborations, and premerger notification requirements in the United States and abroad.

Recent Articles by Thomas Ensign

Al Capone and Qualcomm: Why Section 5 of FTCA should not be a fallback to challenge conduct actionable under the Sherman Act

Last month, after a multi-year antitrust investigation, the United States Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm with using anticompetitive business practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC’s decision to charge Qualcomm with violating Section 5 of the FTC Act, in lieu of alleging that Qualcomm’s conduct violated the Sherman Act appears to be the tactical equivalent of the government’s 1930’s decision to pursue Capone for tax evasion… Section 5 should not be used as a fallback device to challenge conduct actionable under the Sherman Act, but where the enforcement agency is unable or unwilling to meet the evidentiary rigor required by case law under the Sherman Act.

March 19, 2017

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